RAF Topcliffe

54.2037, -1.3808 — view on OpenStreetMap ↗

About

RAF Topcliffe opened in North Yorkshire in 1940 as a Bomber Command station, its early Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys of Nos. 77 and 102 Squadrons giving way after January 1943 to the Canadian-manned squadrons of No. 6 (RCAF) Group, flying Vickers Wellingtons and Handley Page Halifaxes. After the war it became a navigation and air-electronics training station. The Army took over much of the site in 1974 as Alanbrooke Barracks; a gliding squadron still flies from the field, which is also home to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including RAF Topcliffe — Wikipedia and Topcliffe — Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. The text is original and has been written from factual source material; no source text has been copied unless specifically quoted and attributed.

Photographs

RAF Bomber Command 1940 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk IV P5004 of No. 77 Squadron RAF at RAF Topcliffe, 19 November 1940. This aircraft was lost on 25/26 June 1942 during the '1,000 bomber' raid on Bremen, while operating with No. 10 OTU.
ⓘ licence & creditPress Agency photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_Bomber_Command_1940_HU104648.jpgView source & full licence →
Handley Page HP.67 Hastings C.2 WD490 of 24/47 Squadrons based at RAF Topcliffe in 1952
ⓘ licence & creditRuthAS / CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HP.67_Hastings_C.2_WD490_%27T%27_24.47_Sqns_Ringway_09.08.52_edited-2.jpgView source & full licence →
Control Tower, RAF Topcliffe
ⓘ licence & creditP Glenwright / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Control_Tower,_RAF_Topcliffe_-_geograph.org.uk_-_265072.jpgView source & full licence →
Air Traffic Control, RAF Topcliffe The RAF still has a presence at Topcliffe. The airfield acts as a Relief Landing Ground for RAF Linton-on-Ouse and sits in an enclave inside Alanbrooke Barracks. The 'Topcliffe Tower' sign on the grass in front of the tower, is from a now demolished tower block in Castle Vale, in the West Midlands.
ⓘ licence & creditFrank Glover / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Traffic_Control,_RAF_Topcliffe_-_geograph.org.uk_-_430545.jpgView source & full licence →
IWM caption : Whitley Mark V, T4162 'DY-S' "Ceylon", of No. 102 Squadron RAF, on the ground at Topcliffe, Yorkshire. It failed to return from a bombing raid on Cologne on the night of 1/2 March 1941.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:102_Squadron_Whitley_at_RAF_Topcliffe_WWII_IWM_CH_2052.jpgView source & full licence →

No people are cross-referenced to this airfield yet. Links appear as squadron postings, crews and service records are added.